Man Fatally Shoots Girlfriend, Self

Francisco Rivera Threatens Suicide, Holds Police At Bay For 3 Hours As They Try To Reach Him And The Woman.

June 11, 2004|By Gary Taylor, Sentinel Staff Writer

SANFORD -- A Sanford man shot his girlfriend Thursday and dragged her inside their home to die before turning the gun on himself as police closed in.

Responding to reports of a shooting in the Rose Hill subdivision of south Sanford, police tried for nearly three hours to contact Francisco Rivera and talk him into surrendering. They finally decided to fire tear gas into the home out of concern for Rivera's girlfriend, Evelyn Schumann, 28.

Amid the assault, they heard a gunshot inside. They rushed in to find Schumann dead and Rivera, 50, gravely injured with a gunshot wound to the head.

Rivera was airlifted to Orlando Regional Medical Center, where he died at 3:53 p.m.

Residents were evacuated from more than 20 homes in the 65-house, middle-class neighborhood. Others were ordered to stay in their homes.

Police said Rivera made a number of telephone calls from the house, mostly to relatives, and gave conflicting reports of what had happened.

Police tried several times to reach him by phone, but he hung up each time. They also tried to reach him with loudspeakers.

Police said they were finally able to talk to him, but he threatened suicide. Officers decided to enter the house because of the possibility that Schumann might still be alive, Sanford Police Chief Brian Tooley said.

Lisa Branly, a neighbor, called 911 first after hearing a gunshot and rushing outside to see Rivera with the injured Schumann.

"He had her in a headlock," Branly said. "The gun was in his other hand."

Branly said she and her husband, Gabe, had seen Rivera chasing Schumann in front of their home about a week ago.

It was not known Thursday night if that incident was reported to police.

"She was a nice person," Lisa Branly said of Schumann, who bought the house at 122 Rose Hill Drive in March, according to county property records.

The Branlys and other neighbors said at least one other person lived in the house, but police could not confirm that.

It appeared someone was moving out, but police were not sure who late Thursday.

A rental truck was backed up to the garage and one piece of furniture was in it, investigators said.

Other furniture was on the driveway, some of it with the manufacturer's tags still attached.